Dragon Slayers
by uchiha-yaku-chan
Summary: In the year X787, Nanami and her friend Ami heard rumors of a dragon slayer by the name of Salamander. Curious to see if the rumors are true, she heads over to the infamous guild Fairy Tail. There she meets many friends who teach her the meaning of family, all the while heading on many adventures in search of dragons.
1. Prologue

**DRAGON SLAYERS**

**Prologue**

With a thump, a head with auburn hair hit the table. A groan-like noise came from the person who currently had their head buried under their arms.

"Nami-chan, I think you should stop. You've been at it for over an hour." A brown and white cat looked up at the girl known as 'Nami-chan' with a very worried look on her face. It's true they have been searching for _him_ for almost 10 years, without any luck, but drinking this much seems a bit excessive.

"Shaddup Ami" the girl started out with a slurred speech, not even bothering to lift her head, "It's only my twelf beer. Speaking of which-" The girl quickly sat up and looked around. When she found the target she was looking for, her hand shot up straight in to the air. "Ally!"

The woman who was summoned, walked over to the obviously drunk female. "Nanami, you're our best customer but I've never seen you drink this much. Is something wrong?"

With a pout Nanami turned her back to Ally and crossed her arms, mumbling what sounded like a string of curses. "You all must hate me." Once again, Nanami let her head 'thump' against the table. At this Ally and Ami, the brown and white cat, shared a look. Ami shook her head mouthing the words 'salt water' and with a worried glance at her best customer and a nod of understanding, Ally walked off. When the woman left, Ami reached in to a pocket hidden beneath her drunken friend's open skirt. Out of the pocket, she pulled out a cigarette and matches.

"Nami-chan, I think we should look for some new jobs." Under her breath Ami mumbled 'Since you drank all of our money this afternoon'. "But you need to sober up, a lot, before we do."

At this, Nanami raised her head and grabbed the cigarette and lit it with a rather upset look on her face.

"If I got just ONE good lead Ami, just one! All I need to do is find _him_ and everything will be okay." Ally chose this moment to return to the two girls with two gallons of salt water.

After placing the two gallons of salt water on the table, Ally put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "I hope everything works out. I don't know what it is you're looking for or why you are, but despite all the money you bring in, it's upsetting to see you this depressed, so good luck." With a smile Ally turned around and left the two.

Nanami grumbled looking at the water as if willing it to turn in to alcohol. When she realized that, obviously, would not happen. She put out her cigarette with a sigh and grabbed the first gallon. In what seemed like miraculous speed, she finished the first gallon while glaring at her best cat friend, Ami.

"What? You're the one who spent all of our money! Now I can't eat any fish and it's all YOUR fault." At this, Ami turned away from her friend with a pout.

Nanami's face turned rather grave after hearing her friend say that. She wasn't being fair, sure she was upset after hitting yet _another _dead-end, but she shouldn't be so selfish, especially to the one who has been there for her throughout it all. As she put the empty gallon bottle down, she turned to Ami with an apologetic look on her face.

However, just as she was about to apologize, a certain conversation reached her ears.

"_A Dragon Slayer? Hah! Dragons have been extinct for years now. It's a lost magic, no one can do it anymore."_

Nanami could feel the blood pulsing throughout her veins, willing herself not to fight. Ami, noticing her friends tension looked at her. Why was she so tense? It was then, upon seeing her friends concentrated stare, that she noticed Nanami was eavesdropping. Looking around, she finally saw who Nanami was listening to. It was two men across the bar chugging beer, seeming to be having a good time.

"_Yeah but that Salamander kid, he claims to be a dragon slayer. Apparently he can breath fire!" _The two men shared a laugh, unaware of any listener.

"_That's rich. So a kid thinks he is a dragon slayer just because he can breath fire?"_

It was that moment.

The moment she would join their conversation.

Quickly, she stood up and walked across the bar over to the two men. She helped herself to a seat staring at the men. The men, who were a first shocked, looked at the girl with flirtatious smiles.

"Well _hello_ pretty lady. What's your name?" The first man asked. She looked over at him, quickly accessing him. Mid to late thirties she decided. He had brown hair with a scruffy looking beard to match. He was a rather burley man who was at first glance rather fearsome. However, that 'first glance' did not scare or stop Nanami.

With a slight smirk she looked at the gruff looking man with a coy look. "My name is Nanami, what's yours?"

"My name is Arata." He then pointed at his companion. "This is Gavino." She looked over at the man, Gavino. He looked like a more agile man unlike Arata. He was also a bit leaner and had no beard.

"Would you like a drink?" The man Gavino asked. He had a rather high-pitched voice that did not seem to fit him and annoyed Nanami. So, she decided to not play around and get straight to the point.

"No." The men looked taken aback by her quick and curt response. "I am here to continue your conversation about a certain _Salamander._"

With a shared confused glace, the men turned to the serious looking Nanami. "Why's that?" Asked Arata.

"I am extremely curious about this dragon slayer you speak of."

The men shared a laugh, expecting her to join in at the 'preposterous' claim of the boy being a dragon slayer. Nanami's face however, remained straight obviously not finding the joke. With a quick cough, the men stopped laughing.

"Well," Gavino started off, "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know where he is." The two men once again looked confused. Why would this little girl want to know where a 'dragon slayer' was?

Gavino, the one obviously who knew where the 'dragon slayer' was, was the first to respond with, what he thought, a seductive smirk. "Why? What do we get out of it?"

Ami, who was next to Nanami the whole time simply sighed and shook her head. _Men._ They seem to enjoy pissing her friend off.

Just as the cat predicted, a sense of anger started to radiate from the woman. "I have some questions for him that are of no consequence to you. _You_ get nothing but your life."

The men laughed amused at the girl. Who did she think she was? The three of them stood up, with the two men towering over the short girl. Not even bothering to look up, Nanami clenched her fist, attempting to calm herself down before she _once again_ made a mess of things.

"Little girl, do you _honestly_ think you can beat the two of us by yourself?" The men looked over the girl's body hungrily. She had long auburn hair tied in a ponytail and greenish eyes. Around her neck was a necklace that held a jade gemstone. She didn't bother wearing a shirt, only having a blue sports bra covering her large breasts. As for pants, she wore black skin tight shorts that were covered by a blue and green open skirt that showed off her left, very toned, leg. Across her waist was a light blue belt that was obviously holding a long sword to her back.

"I should be asking you two idiotic men that." With a glare she finally looked in to the eyes of the now irate men. There was a stare down between the three of them, tension rising in the air. Feeling this, the bar quieted down watching them.

At this moment Ally decided to walk over to them. "Hey guys, whatever trouble you're having, please take it outside."

Nanami, respecting Ally's wishes, turned around and headed for the door, Ami quickly following with a relieved sigh. When Nanami didn't hear footsteps following, she turned and looked at the two men who were still standing and glaring at her. With a condescending smirk, she looked at them, making it seem as if she were looking at bugs needing to be squashed.

"I knew you two were little bitches." Hearing this Ami sighed. Nanami was _such_ a trouble maker. Leaving it at that, the duo left for the door. Seconds after leaving the bar, she turned around with a smirk on her face looking at the two red-faced men.

"How about this, cry-babies, when I beat you, you tell me where the Salamander kid is." She didn't even bother looking at them as she took out a cigarette and lit it.

"And when we beat you?"

Nanami looked at Arata with a hard glare, exhaling the smoke.

"You won't."

As soon as the jab to his pride registered in his mind, Gavino was the first to react. With a smirk he released a wave of water in Nanami's direction, who upon seeing this laughed.

"That's _IT?!_" Almost doubling over in laughter, she realized how irate her opponent was. Damn, she had to defeat these idiots _without_ knocking them out. As the water crashed upon her, Gavino smirked. The little brat thought she could beat _him. _

However, he ended up watching as the water that was _supposed _to be crushing her disappeared as she drank it all.

"You got some dirty ass water. That didn't taste good at all." She frowned while wiping water from her mouth, a little depressed about the fowl tasting water.

"W-what?!" With this, Arata pushed Gavino to the side, and with a swipe of his hand sent bubble like water magic her way.

_Wave._ With a quick thought she dogged them.

"A water user and a wave user. That's quite pathetic. You picked a fight with the worst person, ya know that? I _was_ hoping for some sort of battle." She took another drag of her cigarette and then crossed her arms, an annoyed look crossing her face.

"Nami-chan, you're too violent." Flying in the air, Ami sighed. Nanami always tended to let her temper get the better of her.

With a 'tch' sound she turned and looked up at the flying cat. "They started it!" Nanami exclaimed while pointing at the men. "I just asked a simple question!"

Ami only sighed and shook her head.

The two men who were watching the exchange became irtate at the fact they were being ignored AND underestimated my a mere _cat _and a _little girl._ While Nanami was in conversation, water pellets and vibrations sent through the air headed her way.

Not even bothering to look at the attacks, dodged them with ease. With another annoyed glace, noticing they made her put her cigarette out, looked over at them. "You know, it's rude to attack people while they are in conversation." With this, the two men charged at the female.

Punches were thrown at her, kicks were aimed at her and magic attacks were sent her way. Every. Single. One of them were easily dodged without her even using magic.

The two men, almost out of magic and out of breath looked at the female who was simply looking at them, hands on her hips with a rather bored look on her face. She was _mocking them._

With a last shot of pride, the two sent their most powerful magic in her direction. She needed to end this battle quickly despite how fun it was playing with the two men. With a smirk, she muttered three words that ended the battle; "Ocean Dragon's Roar". As soon as she said the words, a large amount of water was released from her mouth easily and successfully hitting her targets.

The two men, paralyzed, looked up at the female who was now looking down at them.

"W-who are you?" An amused Nanami looked down to Arata, who now shared a terrified look with Gavino.

"A dragon slayer."

**NOTE; This is a beta chapter. If reviews are bad and I receive negative feedback on the progress of the story, I will stop writing. So please, let me know what you think. I am already done with writing this story and, if feedback is positive, I will upload a new chapter every Thursday. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.**


	2. Chapter One

**DRAGON SLAYERS**

**Chapter One**

After returning from the freezing Mt. Hakobe, Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, and Happy all returned home to their guild, Fairy Tail. All of them had big smiles on their faces after successfully saving and returning their fellow 'family' member Macao.

Macao was sent on a mission almost a week ago to defeat 20 of the giant creatures known as Vulcans who were terrorizing people on the mountain. The mission itself should have only taken at most three days. A week passed and Romeo, Macao's son, went to the guild crying and asking for someone to save his father. That was exactly what Natsu, Lucy and Happy decided to do. Macao had defeated 19 of the Vulcans and was taken over by the 20th. After saving him, the trio returned home with Macao resting against Natsu's back.

A cheer resounded throughout the guild. It was one of relief and happiness knowing that their family member is still alive.

Natsu deiced it was time to eat his usual meal, which consisted of a food and drink literally set on fire. Suddenly he set his food down and sniffed the air. Someone was here. Someone he didn't know.

Not five seconds after Natsu had turned around to inspect the guild the door opened to reveal a female and a white/brown cat that was almost identical to Happy. Some other members noticed and looked questionably at the duo. The others either didn't care to notice or were to engrossed with what they were currently doing.

With a big smile on her face Mirajane walked over to them. "Hi! Welcome to Fairy Tail! Is there something you need?" The girl looked at Mirajane who had the most genuine gorgeous smile she had ever seen.

With a returning smile she answered her question. "Yes actually. I am looking for someone." At this point the Master, known as Makarov, was next to Mirajane also with a big smile on his face.

"Oh?" He questioned. He was almost scared to find out the answer, considering how destructive his members are. This girl however did not seem to be mad, so he was hoping that is was just a passer-by or perhaps a tourist maybe. "Who would that be?"

"I'm looking for someone called Salamander. Is he here?" With a questioning look she glanced around the guild looking for any possible trace of the dragon slayer. However, her attention was quickly drawn back to the Master who had what seemed like a horrified look on his face.

"What did he do this time?"

"Oh nothing!"

"Oi!" Natsu jumped up and ran over to the group with Happy following. "Gramps! What do ya mean? I didn't do anything wrong! Why is it that whenever I help someone I get blamed for destroying everything?" The girl watched the staring contest between Master and obviously the dragon slayer known as Salamander.

"Uhm" Hesitantly she started out gaining the attention of the two males.

"Oh yeah! My name's Natsu Dragneel. What's yours?" The boy had a goofy grin on his face, one that she couldn't help but smile back at.

"My name is Nanami. I have a couple questions for you…" She trailed off. The guild had lost their attention and currently was back to their mischief. Mirajane smiling left them to take care of her reckless 'family'. However Natsu, Master and Happy (who was stealing glances at the cat standing across from him) stayed.

"Nanana? Like a song? What a weird name." Nanami glared at the dense boy.

"Nana_mi_ you dumbass, and you say my name is weird? What kind of name is Natsu? It probably means dumbass in another language."

Before any conflict could arise, Master stepped in between the two. "What kind of questions do you have for Natsu, Nanami?"

"Oh yeah." Remembering the reason of her trek, she looked at Natsu with a rather seirous face. "You're a dragon slayer right? You were trained by Igneel, the fire dragon." At the mention of his foster father, Natsu became extremely serious. Nanami noticed this and decided to continue knowing she had his absolute attention. "Do you happen to know where Igneel is?"

"Yeah I am a dragon slayer trained by Igneel. Why are you looking for him?" The conversation had turned from a rather cheerful fun one to a gravely serious one in a matter of seconds.

"I'm not exactly looking for _him_. I was hoping if you knew where Igneel was, then you would be able to help me." At this moment Master turned around and left, leaving the two to their conversation. Natsu had a very confused look on his face.

"Who are you looking for? How could Igneel and I help you?" Listening quietly to the string of questions, Nanami sighed and took out a cigarette. Not once has she met a dragon slayer. She was told about different dragons and their elements, but she never actually thought that they would also train dragon slayers.

"I'm looking for my foster father Mizukon the Ocean dragon who also trained me as a dragon slayer. He disappeared the seventh of July in the year X777 and I have been searching everywhere for him and haven't been able to get a single hint about where he is. I was hoping that if you knew where Igneel was, then I might be able to find Mizukon." With a downcast look she awaited Natsu's reply. She heard a sigh and looked up. He also had a rather upset look on his face.

"Igneel disappeared that same day. I can't find him anywhere either. Don't you think it's kind of strange that they both disappeared on the same day?"

Nanami nodded, disappointed that this led her to yet _another_ dead end. Natsu noticed this and grabbed the short girl by her shoulders.

"Hey don't look like that!" He grinned at her and she returned it with a small grin of her own. "Why don't you join our family and we can search together! After all, two is better than one right?"

Nanami looked around the guild looking at all of the members. It looked basically like a bar, just like the kind of place she would enjoy. The members were all laughing and cheering with each other having a great time. It seemed like a big family simply enjoying each other's presence. Looking over at a distracted Ami, she decided.

"Sure, why not?" Natsu threw his fist in the air and with a joyous yell grabbed the attention of the guild. He grabbed Nanami's hand and dragged her over to the bar table where Master was sitting.

"Oi gramps! Nanami wants to join the guild! Can she, can she?!" Nanami stared at the hyper-active boy wondering if he could really be a dragon slayer.

Without hesitation, Master yelled an 'of course' and the guild quickly erupted in cheers. Nanami noticed Mirajane walk over to her and she turned to face her.

"Where would you like your mark and what color would you like it?" She asked, once again with a smile on her face.

Nanami thought about it for a second. The color was obvious quickly stating "Blue" as her choice. She then took a second to ponder where she should place the mark. "How about on my left shoulder blade?" Nanami finished with a smile as Mirajane nodded.

Yeah, she might like this place.

Suddenly the door slammed open grabbing everyone's drunken attention.

"I heard flame breath was back." Nanami stared at the boy who made the comment. Never had she seen such a cute boy. With black spiky hair and was that blue eyes? The boy had an upset frown on his face and she quickly wondered who he was referring to. Her question was quickly answered.

"Yeah, what's it to you _popsicle."_ And then the fight started. She watched red-faced as the black haired boy mysteriously stripped clothes, only leaving his boxers.

"Let's finish this once and for all!" The black haired boy known as 'popsicle' yelled out to what seemed like his enemy. Looking around the guild, she noticed they all had annoyed faces. Apparently this was a daily occurrence. How stupid. The boys set up in positions, ready to fight when someone else came running in.

"Guys! Erza's back!" The two boys, who earlier had fierce and mean looking faces, now had their arms around each other with terrified faces as if they were best buddies. As if a tsunami was about to crash, the entire guild started cleaning up any mess that was left around. Seconds later, a woman with hair very similar to Nanami's walked in with a armor covering her chest and a plain blue skirt.

"Gray! Natsu!" The two boys, still hugging as if best buddies, looked over at the female.

"Yes ma'am!" They said in unison. Nanami noted that this woman demanded respect and she ruled the guild almost in fear. Nanami sat in amusement watching the terrified boys cower in front of the woman named Erza. While sitting there she was pondering the familiar name _Erza._ As she was pondering this, Erza was walking around correcting various mages who all responded in terror.

It was then when Erza noticed Nanami. She walked over and stuck her hand out at the girl. "My name is Erza Scarlet. I heard you are a new member."

Nanami nodded, noticing she had a rather hard look on her face. _Erza Scarlet_.

"AHA!" Erza and the rest of the guild stared at Nanami very curiously. "You're Titania Erza Scarlet! That's where I've heard of your name. That was going to bug me if I didn't remember. I'm sorry," Nanami grabbed Erza's hand and shook it. "My name is Nanami Mizushima. It's great to meet you, the famous Titania."

Surprisingly, Erza eyed the girl in suspicion. Nanami stared back hesitantly and the guild also holding their breath for Erza's next comment. To everyone's surprise Erza nodded her head as if remembering something. "It's great to meet you as well, Vortex." Nanami's eyes widened and whispers consumed the guild. "I know of you as well."

Nanami could hear the whispers erupting from the guild. She had yet to reveal to anyone what her magic was. The only ones who she informed were the master and Natsu. Nanami had well earned her nickname throughout all of the fights she had and often told her clients her name as 'Vortex'. Not many people could associate her, Nanami Mizushima, as the infamous Vortex.

Erza, noticing the girl's perplexed face, decided to explain her knowledge. "Rumors spread and I keep an open ear about powerful mages."

At this Nanami couldn't help the blush that reached her face. Suddenly Natsu appeared next to Erza.

"Wait so YOU'RE Vortex?!" With an incredulous look on his face he pointed at her.

With a twitch she quickly turned to Natsu. "Yes. Is that hard to believe?" With a glare and a curt tone she stared at the oblivious dragon slayer.

"Well, it's just you're so short and all." Erza smirked as she noticed a rise of anger coming from Nanami. Ami, who had been silently sitting next to Nanami the whole time only sighed and shook her head. The rest of the guild, along with Master, looked extremely worried for their building, oh and Natsu too.

With her face downward and darkness covering her eyes, she stood up in front of Natsu, who was still oblivious. "So it's hard to believe that I'm powerful because I'm _short?_"

Natsu laughed and scratched his head. "Well it's just that short girls aren't as strong ya know? No offense-" Natsu attempted to finish his sentence but was quickly quieted as he was punched in the chest that consequently crashed him in to the stone wall outside of the guild's _front_ door.

The entire guild-including Master- stood there gaping. The only ones keeping their composer were Ami, who was sighing and shaking her obviously used to such antics, and Erza who had already heard rumors of the short girl's strength and extremely temper.

"It's great of you to join Nanami." Erza stood next to Nanami. Both females had their hands on their hips and stood tall while glaring at the very confused Natsu, who was still lying on the ground.

Happy flew over to Natsu asking if he was okay. It took a moment for the guild and Natsu to comprehend what had just happened. Realizing the damage he just received he ran back in to the guild, fists clenched.

"The hell was that for?!" Natsu demanded. Taking one glance at the thoroughly beaten up Natsu everyone started laughing. Embarrassed, he marched over to Nanami.

She simply looked at him with a blank face as he repeated his question. "You're a dumbass." No one could help it- not even Erza or Happy- and doubled over in laughter at Natsu. The red-faced Natsu glared at the girl.

"Fight me."

Nanami sighed as she took out a cigarette. "Why should I do that? I already took out my revenge; I don't need to fight you anymore." Hearing her response, everyone sighed in relief. They didn't need another violent quick-tempered dragon slayer who destroys everything in sight when riled-up.

Natsu, annoyed, threw a punch at Nanami's face, who easily stopped it by grabbing the boy's fist. "Don't bother." She took another drag out of her cigarette which was in her other hand.

"Baby." Nanami twitched when she heard this and took a deep breath.

"Insulting me won't get you anywhere. Any you say will be meaningless and pathetic." Nanami's words were like an attack against Natsu's pride. Natsu swelled up in anger and glared at the smirking female who was enjoying her water and cigarette. He turned around with a huff muttering to himself.

What no one expected was for her to suddenly run in front of Natsu, almost appearing out of thin air grabbing him by his scarf. They weren't expecting her to have a glare that clearly said 'if looks could kill'. They weren't expecting Natsu to be smirking at her knowing he had successfully riled her up for a fight.

"What. Did. You. Say?" She spoke every word slowly and clearly. Everyone shared confused looks. Even Erza had no clue about what was happening, because no one heard him say anything at all.

With a smirk playing across his face he looked her right in the eye. "I said, that a baby like _you_ wouldn't be able to beat me and that your nickname was just a rumor that _you_ made up."

Everyone gaped. This dumbass _actually_ said that to THE Vortex? Did he want to die?

Apparently Nanami was wondering the same thing. "Do you want to die dumbass?" Natsu started laughing, but before he could say anything else Master and Erza were standing next to the pair.

"Go fight, but fight outside. We don't have the money to rebuild a whole new guild." Erza nodded in agreement to Master's statement. If two dragon slayers were going to have a battle, it's best to do it where nothing could get destroyed.

Nanami let go of Natsu's scarf and the two had a stare down.

"Yes." Everyone looked at Erza who had a small smile on her face. "I'd love to see the Vortex in action." Upon hearing this, Nanami gave Natsu a hard look, one which he returned.

"Fine. Where will we fight?"

"Outside of Magnolia, that's for sure." Gray commented remembering the destructive power of his comrade. If she's even half as bad as Natsu, they'd have to rebuild Magnolia from the ground up. Quickly agreeing, Master stepped forward.

"There are some woods on the outskirts of Magnolia, the fight shall take place there." With smirks, the two dragon slayers agreed.

Nanami turned around as if looking for someone. Easily she found the cat she was looking for. The two shared a look and Ami rummaged through a bag that the two had brought, pulling out a gallon of salt water she flew it over to Nanami who then drank the gallon in what seemed like one gulp.

"Alright, let's do this dumbass." The two, followed by almost the whole guild, then exited the building heading for the forest that Master was talking about.

In the forest, Nanami stood across from Natsu. Surrounding them, the guild was waiting for someone to make the first move. Tension was quickly filling the air as they stared each other down.

The first move was made by Natsu as he put his hand next to his mouth and yelled out "Fire Dragon's Roar!" and let fire leave his mouth heading towards Nanami. In return, she yelled out "Ocean Dragon's Roar!" successfully blocking Natsu's attack. When the fire and water hit each other, steam quickly rose to the air as the water subdued the fire attack.

Suddenly, Nanami did a backflip just in time as she noticed Natsu quickly jumping through the steam allowing him to hit the ground with his "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist". Upon landing she yelled out "Ocean Dragon's Kunai!" and water shaped like kunai left her hand heading for Natsu who easily dodged the oncoming attack. Not giving her a moment to rest, he once again blew his Fire Dragon's roar in her direction. Just in enough time she yelled "Ocean Dragon's Shield" successfully creating a shield using water from her hands.

The fire upon hitting the shield reflected burning the surrounding area, causing the guild members to run for shelter.

As she dropped the shield, she saw Natsu attempt to attack her from above with a kick aimed for her head. In an instant she put her arms up in an X shape and defended herself from the kick. She didn't give Natsu time to recuperate as she appeared in front of him with a kick contacting his chest sending him flying back.

Standing up from the attack, Natsu watched his opponent. Just as he was, she was slightly out of breath and obviously planning her next move.

Continuing to watch her, Natsu saw Nanami pull out her sword and jam it in to the ground yelling "Ocean Dragon's Sword Art; Landslide!" Suddenly, as if they were hit by an earthquake the ground started shaking and breaking apart. As the ground was breaking water started spurting everywhere, flooding the surrounding area.

Watching this, the guild members blanched, very VERY thankful that they moved this fight outside of Magnolia. Looking around, the trees were burnt, the ground was broken, muddy and flooding with water. The area was in absolute turmoil.

Quickly Nanami put her sword back in to its place on her back and yelled out her signature move; "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art; Vortex!" Suddenly, without knowing what was happening, Natsu was swept up in a tornado of water spinning him endlessly. She dispelled the water to find Natsu on the ground, eyes spinning from dizziness.

"Well," Nanami started out "At least you put up a good fight, but you're still not good enough." Still in his dizzy state, Natsu managed to glare at her. To add insult to injury, she turned around but not before muttering "Dumbass."

After the fight everyone, including a pouting Natsu, headed back to the guild for a night of celebration welcoming Lucy, Nanami, and Ami to the family.


	3. Chapter Two

**Dragon Slayers**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"Really, thanks again Lucy. I really appreciate this." The trio of girls walked in to Lucy's apartment after a long day of celebration. The blonde female had generously offered for Nanami and Ami to stay at her apartment until they could find a place to stay. Well, until they had enough money to find a place to stay. Once again Nanami had spent all of their money on booze.

"Oh it's no problem! It's nice to have a sleepover!" At this Nanami placed her bag on Lucy's arm chair and looked around staring in wonder.

"You have a really nice apartment!" With the compliment, Lucy blushed.

"Anything is nice to you Nami because the hotels we stay in are crap." Nanami gave a sour look to her cat friend, who was staring at her with her arms crosses.

"That's because we never have enough money to stay in the nice ones." Ami stared at Nanami for a good minute with a very dumbfounded look on her face.

"I wonder if it's because a certain _ocean dragon slayer_ spends it all on booze? Oh wait, that is why we never have money!"

At that Lucy laughed. The bickering females looked at her and sighed.

"Oh yeah Nanami, I've been meaning to ask you…" Lucy drifted off, looking downward with a small blush on her face.

"Ask me what?" Lucy looked up to see Nanami staring at her with a confused and intense expression on her face.

"Do you wear that all the time?" Lucy was pointing at Nanami's breasts, which were only being covered by a sports bra. Then she pointed at her legs, which were only being covered by short, skin tight spandex.

"Uh, yeah? I usually wear the skirt…thing you saw me in as well, but I take it off for bed."

Ami started to walk over to the arm chair was, obviously designating that as her place to sleep. "Well, Nami is always around water, so any extra clothing would be a hassle." Nanami nodded, agreeing with her statement, while Lucy made an o-face, understanding the reasoning.

"You're looking for your dragon, right? What was he like? I'm kind of jealous you got to be raised by one…"

"Don't be! He was a complete and utter asshole!" Nanami looked away in an angry huff with her arms crossed. Lucy stared in shock, feeling some-what guilty. Apparently it was a sore subject for the dragon slayer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Don't be." Nanami sighed and looked out the window, seeing the lake in front of her. A small smile graced her face, remembering the times she spent with her dragon. "He was a real asshole and very grumpy. His mood could change quickly and he always called me a brat. We're not a like at all. Damn bastard. All he did was curse, drink dragon liquor and get drunk, and fight with me all the time."

Ami and Lucy stared at Nanami as she told her short little tale. _Not alike at all… _

"If he's such a jerk, why're you trying to find him?" Nanami looked back at Lucy with a hard look on her face.

"So I can't beat his dragon ass in to the next generation for leaving me! That's why damn it! He broke his stupid promise to me! How're you going to make a promise and then break it?" Lucy brought out some milk for herself and Ami and some water for Nanami.

"What kind of promise did he make?" Ami asked her friend. It was a rare moment when Ami didn't know something about her best friend. This was the first time she had heard of a promise between the two.

"He promised me that he would protect me, no matter what. He said that since he would be fighting for me, he'd be even stronger. Like, what the hell does that mean?! Fight for me…Why would he fight for me?! It makes no sense!"

Lucy smiled at the angered girl and sat next to her. "Maybe he meant that since he had something _to fight for_ he would be stronger. I see it in our guild… They fight to protect each other because they're family. When you have something worth fighting for, you get stronger."

Silence engulfed the room. Ami had fallen asleep on the arm chair, while Lucy and Nanami still sat on the edge of the bed. "I've never really had a human friend before. I grew up with Mizukon by the ocean, and then when he disappeared all I did was search for him by myself. Then I found Ami and she joined me. Honestly, the only human interactions I've ever had were at the bars or when I had to talk to the guys who would hire me for missions. I don't really understand the concept of it, fighting for someone."

"Well, these Fairy Tail idiots will help you figure it out! I'm kind of tired, want to catch some shut eye?" Nanami nodded and the two got under the covers of the bed and quickly went in to a deep slumber.

* * *

The next day, the trio found themselves walking in to the guild hall together. Not 30 seconds later Natsu ran up to Lucy and grabbed her apparently heading off on some sort of mission.

"I say we go on a mission too." Nanami looked down at Ami. It sounded like a good idea. Especially considering that they had no money. So, without another word the girls went over to the request board. After staring for a minute, Nanami sighed.

"I'm not used to these official guild requests."

"Why don't you go on a mission with someone to start?" Nanami and Ami turned around to see Mira smiling behind them.

Ami nodded her head. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Yeah, but who? Lucy is on a mission with Natsu. I didn't see Erza when we came in. I don't really know anyone else." Nanami bit her thumb nail in concentration. The only other person she talked to was Gray. But they didn't talk a lot, so it'd be weird if she asked him.

"Careful, you might hurt yourself." A glare was sent Ami's way. "Shut up you stupid cat."

"Any good requests today?"

"Oh! Gray! Perfect timing! Nanami is looking for a job and I want her to go with someone for her first official job!"

Nanami then wondered if fate had read her mind and decided to curse her. Or bless her, she couldn't decide which it was yet.

* * *

Nanami stared. She was cursed, definitely cursed.

"What're you waiting for? You going to get on?" Gray stared at the girl wondering what her problem was.

"Is it necessary?" Ami looked up at her childish friend and sighed.

"Yes, unless you want to walk from here to Lupinus Town. It would only take a week, at least. No? Good, now get on." Unwillingly Nanami walked on board the train, nicknamed the 'train-of-doom'.

Gray, Nanami, and Ami all found their seats and waited for the train to leave.

"So basically, all we have to do is escort this Lord to another village? That's a lot of money just to es-" Nanami stopped mid-word and quickly turned green as the train started to move.

"Is she okay?" Gray looked over at her, a worried expression on his face. Does this girl really have motion sickness as bad as flame for brain? He thought it wasn't even possible.

"Yeah, she's fine. She just has bad motion sickness." Ami sighed and started to look through their backpack.

"She doesn't look fine…" Gray muttered to himself, silently watching as Ami gave what he assumed to be sleeping potion, considering she fell asleep seconds after taking it. At that, he stared out the window, the mission on his mind.

Nanami was right, the pay for the mission did seem a little high. Especially considering it was only an escort mission. Granted the guy they were escorting was Lord Xavier Lupin, but a million jewels? It seemed suspiciously excessive. They would definitely have to keep an eye on the guy.

After the five hour train ride, the 30 minute recuperation time, and a 30 minute food break, the three found themselves in front of a mansion.

"Holy shit." All of them were staring wide eyed at the spectacle in front of them. This place was huge. A brick and iron gate surrounded the mansion. They could see a fountain surrounded by beautiful flowers and a stone pathway that led up further to the front door.

"Who is it?" They looked over at the speaker.

"We're mages from Fairy Tail and we're here for your request." Gray answered.

"Show your guild marks." Nanami got in front of the speaker, which apparently had a camera, and turned around to show the mark on her back. Then Gray took off his shirt and showed his. Noticing him, once again, without a shirt, Nanami looked away with a slightly red face.

"Alright, I'll open the gates. Stay on the path and walk directly to the front door." As promised, the gate opened at the end of the sentence. Before passing the gate, Nanami took the cigarette she was smoking and put it out.

"Jeez. This guy already seems like a pain in the ass." Gray and Ami nodded in agreement as they walked up the pathway to the front door. Just as Nanami lifted her arm to knock, the door opened to reveal a young man in a suit and tie.

"Welcome. I will escort you to the main waiting area." Gray and Nanami shared a look. What the hell was this place? They have a _main_ waiting area? And a guy specifically to open the door and escort people to places? Talk about extravagant.

They reached the ornate waiting room and took their seats on the couch. "My Lord will see you shortly."

"My Lord?! What the hell is with this guy?!" Nanami yelled out once the butler was out of ear-shot.

"I know, but he's still paying us a million to get him somewhere." Gray nodded at Ami. Maybe he was over-thinking things earlier? This guy seemed to have enough money to where a million jewels could be a thousand jewels.

"Sorry for making you wait." They all turned to see a short old man walking over towards them. They all stood up, greeting him and introduced themselves. "So, you are from the famous Fairy Tail guild, yes?" They all nodded their heads. "I feel more at ease then. You are guild well-known for their strength."

"Thank you, sir." Nanami smiled, although forcibly, at the old man.

"The job is quite simple. There is a meeting for those in charge of towns and such. All I need for you to do is to escort me to Balsam Village and back here alive."

"That is known for its spas, right?" Lord Lupin looked at the cat in utter shock.

"It can talk?" Nanami stifled a laugh, preferring to stay quiet.

"My name is Ami, not 'it'" A small snort-like sound came from Gray, finding the situation amusing.

"I'm very sorry, I meant no offense, Ami. Well, I shall go up and pack my things, and we can leave after that. Is that fine with you?" A 'yes' resounded from the small group as the old man left the room.

"Well, he seems nice enough." A huff was heard from the cat as she muttered an "I don't think so." Which Nanami's response was laughter.

"Nice-ness aside, I think we should keep an open eye." After that was said, the old man once again entered the room, the butler they saw earlier carrying the bags. Gray and Ami heard Nanami sniffing the air and turned to see her intently staring at Lord Lupin.

Something didn't seem right.

* * *

"What was wrong earlier?" Nanami looked at Ami who was walking beside her. The three of them were walking beside a lacrima powered carriage, which contained Lord Xavier Lupin and his belongings.

"When we got here, there was something that smelt weird. It was faint almost unnoticeable, but it was definitely strange."

"Huh?" Nanami looked at Gray who was obviously confused, wondering why he was confused.

"Nami has a very keen nose. She can smell out anything." Gray nodded in understanding, obviously unsurprised by that fact, considering a certain 'flame brain' also has a keen nose.

"Anyways, when the old man came in he smelt normal, but when he came back…" She trailed off, thinking. "A foul stench filled my nose. It wasn't him, but I think he's carrying something, possibly some dark magic. Gray, you were right. We need to keep an open eye to any movement." Nanami started biting her thumb nail.

"You're going to hurt yourself."

"Something wrong?" Nanami looked over at Gray

"Yeah, we probably should expect some sort of ambush on this trek. Jeez, this is so troublesome." Ami nodded in agreement, while Gray sighed.

Three hours after walking in the unforgiving sunlight, the group found themselves walking in the shade of the trees.

"Finally!" Gray had already taken off his shirt and pants, tired of the heat the kept. Nanami had finally gotten used to the stripper's antics and no longer was red in the face. She quickly noted their change in surroundings.

"Guys," Nanami took a drag of her cigarette while Ami and Gray turned to look at her "If anyone were to ambush us, it would be in this forest. Be careful. I should be able to hear and smell them before they do, but just in case."

After a good thirty minutes, Nanami started rummaging through her bag and pulled out a small salt water bottle and drank it in one gulp. She then threw water bottles at Ami and Gray who caught them and started drinking.

Nanami then started biting her thumb nail again. A 'hmm' type sound coming from her. Her companions looked at her as she drank another bottle of salt water. Then, she stopped walking. The two stopped as well looking back at her. Her eyes were closed and at the same time she started counting on her fingers.

"Four." She stated as she opened her eyes. Quickly she turned around towards the door of the carriage.

"Uh, what?"

"She means that there are four mages coming up to ambush us." After saying this, Ami went back over to the carriage, and flew out with Lord Lupin in tow up in to the air. Nanami then walked back to where Gray was waiting for her.

"There are two on each side. Gray you take the right side, I'll take the left side." Not five minutes later Nanami whispered "Ocean Dragon's Kunai." And the kunai-shaped water headed in to the trees, and out came two mages, as she predicted. In front of her was a short blue haired man in some sort of trench coat, which she thought was strange given the weather, and a tall red haired man.

"Are you an enemy." The red head obviously looked at Nanami up and down, settling on her breasts for a while.

"That depends." The blue haired one answered. With that answer and with the red head staring at her like food, Nanami wanted to beat the guys senseless just because she felt like it.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Then why are you here." The men across from her smiled.

"We need that little old man in the carriage. Could you hand him over?"

On the flip side of the carriage, Gray was having a stare down with a guy who had white hair and a guy who had blonde hair.

"What're you, some sort of stripper?" Gray looked over at the blonde one, who seemed to have the same idea as he did with the no-clothes rule.

"Why're you asking me that?"

"Cus you have no clothes on!" Gray stared at the guy. Did he really ask that?

"But Boba, you don't gots no clothes on either." The bigger white haired man pointed out.

"Shut up Manuke! Who's side are you on anyway?!"

"I was only just saying Boba. Ain't no need to be mean."

"I'm going to be mean when you ask stupid questions, idiot!"

"I ain't no idiot, idiot." Gray looked back and forth between the two in front of him. Why did he have to fight the idiots?

Nanami however seemed to be fighting the pair that seemed to have some intelligence. But at the same time, they weren't too bright. She got absolutely no information from them. She was having no fun fighting them.

"What guild are you guys from?" She looked over at the two who were kneeling down catching their breath and took out a cigarette.

"Dark Unicorn." She stifled a giggle and took a drag from her cigarette. "What're you laughing at huh?! Aito! She's mocking us!"

"I wouldn't say I'm mocking you." She suddenly appeared between the two men. "That'd just be mean." Without another word she punched them both, knocking them in to the trees. She sighed to see Gray watching her. "Finished so soon?"

"Why'd I have to fight the idiots?"

Nanami laughed, stating that she had to fight idiots too. She then whistled and soon Ami was flying down to the carriage, a certain old man in tow.

"Thank you so much!" The old man smiled gratefully at the mages.

"We're only doing our job. Come on, we need to go." Listening to Nanami, Lord Lupin walked back in to his carriage and the group continued on their trek.

Finally, the group reached a small town and unanimously decided it was time for food and rest. Upon finding their lodging, they headed out for food.

They decided on a small café in the middle of town. After sitting down and ordering their food and drinks, Nanami looked over at Lord Lupin, who was sitting across from her.

"Lord, may I ask you a question?" The table stopped their chatting and looked over at her.

"By all means, dear child, go ahead! After saving me today, the least I can do is answer your questions!" The old man returned with a smile.

"Do you have any items that are valuable? I ask this because those mages earlier may have been after you, but they had no other information as to why. They could have been after something you possess and I'd like to know what it could possibly be." The Lord was quiet for a while.

"I have a family heirloom. It has been passed down for hundreds of years. I keep it on me at all times, except at home where it is under lock and key."

"_Anyways, when the old man came in he smelt normal, but when he came back…" She trailed off, thinking. "A foul stench filled my nose. It wasn't him, but I think he's carrying something, possibly some dark magic._

The mages all seemed to be thinking, until their food came and broke their concentration.

"If it's not too much trouble sir, could I see it?"

"Ah, of course." He shuffled around in his pocket and pulled out a necklace that looked very similar to the necklace that Nanami wore, except instead of the gem having a jade color, it held an eerie black. Nanami sniffed the air once and immediately covered her nose.

"What's wrong?" Lord Lupin looked at the girl across him with a worried look.

"Nami has a very sensitive nose, something just smells bad." He nodded, accepting the excuse and then placed the necklace back in his pocket.

After finishing their meals, the group headed back to their room. It was a suite with two bedrooms. Lord Lupin immediately retired in to his bedroom after an 'exhausting day of travels', while Nanami, Gray, and Ami stayed in the waiting room.

"The necklace, it has some sort of dark magic. I'm sure of it. I could almost feel the hatred coming off of it." Nanami wouldn't say it out loud, but she was worried. Very worried. "I'm almost one hundred percent positive that the dark guild who attacked us earlier were after that necklace."

"The old geezer said something about it being in his family for hundreds of years, right?" Gray looked around to see Nanami more serious than usual and Ami staring off in to space. Suddenly, Nanami gasped.

"No way. It couldn't be, could it?"

"Care to explain?" Ami was shocked when she saw her best friend look almost horrified. She never saw her look like that before.

"One of Zeref's demons."


	4. Chapter Three

**Dragon Slayers**

**Chapter Three**

Gray was walking alongside Nanami and Ami. They were currently 2 hours in their walk. His mind was on what Nanami told him last night. Zeref, huh? He sounds like a myth to be honest. Almost like a scary bed time story you read to your kids.

"_Who's Zeref?" Nanami looked over at Gray who was staring intently at her. _

"_To put it simply, Zeref is a mage that Mizukon told me to avoid at all costs should I ever come across him." She saw at Gray and Ami just stared at her confused. "Look, Mizu is over 400 years old, same with Igneel and all the other dragons."_

"_What does their age have to do with it?"_

_Nanami glared at Gray. "I was getting to that. Anyways, around that time lived Zeref. He is the most dangerous and most powerful evil mage that has ever lived. He mastered black magic and created countless demons that are still here today."_

"_If it was over 400 years ago, then why would you have to avoid him?"_

"_He is immortal."_

"Shit!" Gray looked over at Nanami who had a shocked look on her face. "Ami take Lupin now!" Without another word, Ami took off in to the air just as the carriage crumbled to the ground, leaving nothing left.

"Could have been better, such a shame." Nanami and Gray turned to the sound of someone's voice to see a man and a woman.

"Who are you?" Gray asked.

The woman laughed. "Why would it matter to little flies like _you_?" Gray looked over at Nanami and could tell that she was angry. If sending a death glare at the woman wasn't proof enough of that. "All we ask is that you bring back that dumb old man and we won't kill you!" The woman finished off with laughter.

"Why is he so important?" The two women had a glare-off.

"What's it to you girlie."

"Hana. It's not worth it. These two won't bring him back. The faster we finish them off, the sooner we can retrieve him." The woman, named Hana, sighed.

"Fine. I'll take on the pipsqueak." Suddenly, her fingers grew out and attacked Gray and Nanami. In just enough time, she pushed Gray out of the way and flipped out of the way. Her full attention was on the bitch.

Nanami quickly ran over to her and swung a punch at her, only for it to be evaded. Nanami hissed as she felt a sharp sting on her side noticing that the girl's fingers had sliced her.

_Bone Manipulation._

Nanami landing grasping her rib, where the 'Hana-Bitch' grazed letting out a quiet hiss. "Oh, is the little child hurt?"

Running faster, Nanami punched Hana in the face throwing her back a little. Watching Hana get up slowly, Nanami laughed. "Oh, is the little child hurt?"

"You bitch!"

"That's what I've been thinking this whole time sweetheart." With help from her jab, Hana ran over to Nanami and the two started throwing punches and kicks everywhere.

Suddenly Nanami jumped back, panting slightly. Her knuckles were bruised pretty badly. This woman was able to strengthen and stretch out any part of her body. She was like a rubber band that could turn in to iron where needed. However, everyone has a weakness. She looked over towards Gray who seemed to be having problems in a seriously one-sided battle. She needed to hurry.

"You seemed to be having problems girlie. You shouldn't be looking at your boyfriend when you have yourself to worry about." With that, she once again shot her 'finger spears' at Nanami, who simply side-stepped them, pulling out her sword and cutting them in one smooth move.

"Nice try. My fingers will grow back automatically." Hana finished off with a smirk.

"That's really disgusting." With that, Nanami pierced the Earth with her sword. Just as she predicted, Hana attacked her, except this time her arm stretched out to reach her. However, instead of punching her victim Hana found herself being thrown back and out of breath after being punched in the gut.

While Hana was down, Nanami put her hand on the sword and yelled out "Ocean Dragon's Secret Sword Art; Landslide!" The Earth then shook opening up room for water to spurt out from underground.

Suddenly a yell of pain reached the fighting pair. Nanami looked over at Gray and her eyes widened. Before she could act she was kicked in the face. Hana was laughing.

"Seems like your little boyfriend is having some trouble! Did you two get to have a kiss good-bye? Looks like he's going to die soon!" She continued laughing as Nanami stood up. _He's going to die_ was echoing in her head. He's going to die. **He's going to die. **

Hana stopped laughing when she felt a chill run up her spine. Her eyes widened when they saw Nanami. Water was swirling around her feet, so fast it was causing wind. Her skin had turned a dark blue and scale like. But what were most terrifying were her eyes, which were red and staring right at Hana.

Recovering from shock, Hana stretched out her 'finger spears' at Nanami. However, Nanami didn't move as the finger struck her. Hana had a look of horror on her face when she realized that her attack didn't even scratch Nanami.

At this point, Nanami had no time to mess around. She all but appeared in front of Hana and kneed her in the chest, sending her in to the air. Then she jumped up and grabbed Hana's face and face-planted her in to the earth.

She had no time to celebrate beating the freaky bitch. She had someone she needed to protect.

Gray looked over at his opponent from his position on the ground. Almost his whole left side was melted down to the muscle, and the pain was making him go in and out of consciousness. He heard the guy say something like 'final attack' and closed his eyes accepting his face.

After waiting for the attack and not receiving it, he opened his eyes. In front of him stood Nanami who was holding her sword in front of her that created a shield, protecting them both.

"Nami…." She quickly turned around and looked at the boy.

"Gray, what the hell are you doing?!" He felt his face sting as she slapped him. It was a good wakeup call and brought him back to the world.

"You were right, Nami. They're after the necklace." She sighed, not noticing he had used her nickname, ad quickly 'shhd' him. "He attacks with acid, every time I used ice, he melted it."

"No matter, you keep yourself alive ice boy, I'll take care of this." She looked him over, noticing how badly hurt he was. Anger started to surge through her veins as she turned to look at her new opponent.

"So you beat Hana. I have to admit, she wasn't very strong in the first place. However, she was strong enough to be in Death Head Caucus. That'll change now since she was beaten so easily. It's a shame I have to kill you considering your strength. You'd be a nice addition to our guild."

"I'd rather die" Was Nanami's quick reply.

"I was hoping you'd say that." With that she shot acid balls at her and she set up her shield again, only to have it melted away by the acid. Not wasting a moment she ran at him throwing a punch at him. It successfully hit however, unaffected by the punch he shot more acid that hit her skin but she as well was unaffected by the attack.

Quickly, she yelled out "Ocean Dragon's Roar" and he jumped out of the way just in time.

"A dragon slayer? Well, that's fine. I have just the acid for you."

Ignoring him, she threw her ocean dragon's kunai over just as he shot more acid at her. Neither of them dodged the attacks. He grabbed his arm in pain as the kunai pierced his skin. Wide-eyed, Nanami grabbed her arm, hissing in pain, as she watched the acid melt away her dragon-like scales on her skin.

The man smirked at the shocked girl. "It's acid made especially for you dragon idiots. It's the strongest acid I have. It will erode anything. Give up now, you don't stand a chance." He finished with laughter.

"Never!" Nanami ran over to him, sending a kick to his face only for it to be dodged and received another blast of acid on her leg. Jumping back she glared at him. It was the first time she had been injured this badly since she was with Mizukon. That damn dragon.

She pulled out her sword and looked over at the smirking man. "A sword won't help you missy. I'll just erode that too."

Her only response was to yell out "Ocean Dragon's Sword Art; Surging Breaker" and swiped her sword in an 'x' like fashion. A slicing wave of water in an 'x' shape was sent in his direction and hit him, throwing him back a few feet. She was panting. Her sword art always used up too much magic, but it was necessary. Then an 'Ocean Dragon's Roar' hit him full force. In annoyance, she watched him stand up easily without struggle.

He stuck his hand out and a huge ball of acid came over at her. She dodged it, but not without receiving damage. Her dragon force had went back. She no longer had her scaled to protect her.

In horror, she saw him send the same acid over at Gray, who was still fading in and out of consciousness. She had to protect him. She had to make it in time. Without another thought she ran over at him, yelling out "Ocean Dragon's Shield".

Gray came back to consciousness after hearing a scream and wide-eyed stared at the scene before him. Nanami was on her knees, panting, clutching her right arm. Her entire arm had been melted. He could see some of her bones on her forearm.

"Nami, don't…"

"Shut up Gray! Damn it!" All he could do was stare, petrified, as the man across from them laughed.

"You should have left the pathetic boy to die. Now you had to pay the price!" He continued laughing at the pair on the ground.

"You're pathetic! Attacking someone who can't even defend themselves! That's underhanded!" She yelled back, as ferociously as she could.

"I don't care, now both of you will die. You could have saved yourself. But now, you're as good as dead with him." Gray watched him laugh. He had a point. Gray couldn't even stand, let alone defend himself. He could barely stay awake. Nanami was severely hurt as well.

"He won't die! I won't let him!" Gray looked up at Nanami who was now standing. "I'm strong! I have someone worth fighting for! I'll protect him! I won't die until then! He's the second friend I've made! I won't let him die, damn it!" With that, the jade gemstone on Nanami's necklace started to glow, and a blue and black dragon tattoo started swirling on her left forearm. Dark blue dragon scales appeared on her body again as she faced her laughing opponent.

"Those scales won't protect you missy! Face it! You don't stand a cha-" He was cut off by a blow to his gut sending him flying back. In a desperate attempt he sent more acid towards her which had no affect when it touched her skin.

He stood up only to hear her yell "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art; Rip Tide", and watched her put her arms out in front of her and close them. As soon as her arms closed, water from both sides crushed him in unstoppable force. While he was down he heard "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art; Vortex". He was swept up in a swirling vortex of water spinning him endlessly. When he was finally released he didn't have the chance to land on the unmoving ground as she kicked him upwards in to the air.

He landed a few yards away from her, and slowly stood up, obviously in pain. When he stood up he got kicked in the face. "That's for Gray!" then he got hit by numerous 'Ocean Dragon Slayer's; Kunai' "That's for Ami!" Once again he found himself flying in the air after being kicked in the gut again. Nanami then jumped up and grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face in to the ground, leaving a small crater. "And that's for my damn pleasure!"

She took a step back, watching to see if he'll get up again. When he didn't she ran over to Gray, her backpack in hand.

The dragon scales left her body, along with the dragon tattoo. She knelt next to Gray panting, obviously in pain, and helped him sit up after grabbing a first aid kit from her bag.

"Nami, you-"

"Shut up." As she finished wrapping his injuries, she whistled.

Almost ten minutes later, Ami came flying back with Lord Xavier Lupin. The scene they came upon was Nanami leaning against a tree, haphazardly patched up, with an unconscious Gray resting beside her.

"What happened?! Are you okay? Is Gray okay?!" Ami was frantic. Never once has she seen Nanami look so beat up. The Lord was staring at them, face almost horrified as he saw the two mages.

"We were attacked by a dark guild who were after your necklace." She looked up at Lord Lupin who now had a shamed look covering his face. "Yes, I'm fine, in a bit of pain, but fine none-the-less. Gray is alive, but seriously hurt. One of the guys we had to fight used acid secretion and attacked us with acid balls. He fought Gray at first while I had to fight this annoying bitch who used body manipulation. Luckily I made it in time to protect him." Nanami looked down at Gray seeming upset. Ami, however had a small smile on her face. It seemed that Nanami finally figured out what Mizukon meant.

"_He promised me that he would protect me, no matter what. He said that since he would be fighting for me, he'd be even stronger. Like, what the hell does that mean?! Fight for me…Why would he fight for me?! It makes no sense!"_

"We need to move though. I don't want to stay around for more guys to come around." Ami nodded in agreement and picked up the unconscious Gray and took flight. Luckily, they were close to their destination.

* * *

When Gray finally came to, he noticed he was in a bed. He tried to sit up, groaning in pain.

"Don't move. You're still hurt." He laid back down and found the source of the voice. Nanami.

"Where are we?" Was the first question that came to mind. He saw her sigh and exhale smoke. "Are you allowed to smoke in here?" was the second question. "Wait, what happened?!" was his third question.

"Jeez, shut up will ya? We're in Balsam Village. You were knocked out for three days. No, I'm not allowed to, but I could care less. We defeated them and safely brought you and Lupin here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry." She quickly got up and left the room leaving a very confused Gray behind.

"Don't mind her." Ami jumped on the seat that was next to the bed. "She was really worried about you. She didn't leave the room at all. That's why she was smoking in here and why she went to get food." Gray stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. "Don't thank her or tell her I told you. She'll just get pissed off."

"What happened while I was passed out?" Despite Nanami's warning, he sat up and noticed the fresh bandages wrapped around him. He was basically covered in bandages alone.

"Well, when Lord Lupin and I came back from hiding, you and Nami were under a tree. She wrapped you in bandages but didn't really wrap herself. Since you were knocked out I carried you here so you could get treated and had to force Nami to fix herself up too. Then she stayed here in the room and didn't leave until you woke up just now."

Gray was quiet for five minutes until he thought of the battle against the acid guy. "Where's Lupin?"

"He's in a meeting right now with the other lords, why?"

"We need to talk to him. As soon as possible."

"Why?" Gray and Ami looked over at the door to see Nanami carrying two small mountains of food.

"Is that all for you?!" Gray looked incredulously at the small girl.

"No, one is for you." She dropped the food on the bed for him and sat at the table across the room. "So why do we need to have a meeting?"

"It's about that necklace he has."

"What about the necklace I have?" The group, once again, looked at the door to see the little old man walking in. "It's good to see you awake Gray. We were getting quite worried."

"Gray, the necklace?" Gray nodded at Nanami, who was apparently getting annoyed about the delaying of the topic.

"Right. Basically, the necklace is a key to unlock one of Zeref's demons."

"Who's Zeref?" Was the old man's question/

Nanami then went in to the same explanation as the one for Gray and Ami. She explained his history and the possible outcomes if the necklace were to be acquired by a dark guild. "That's why, I'm sorry I have to say this, but we'll need to take the necklace from you to turn in to the Magic Council."

Lord Lupin was silent for a few minutes before sighing. "I understand." With that Nanami went in her bag and grabbed a box, at the same time Lord Lupin grabbed the necklace out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"This is a magic safe. I'm the only one who can unlock it so it will be safe in here." He nodded and watched her put it away.

* * *

The rest of the trip flew by unexpectedly fast and a week and a half later Nanami, Gray, and Ami found themselves looking at a familiar sight. Finally they were home.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm going to the bar. Lord knows I need a drink." She looked over at Gray who had an unreadable expression on his face, which Nanami learned meant there was nothing going on in his brain. "Or twenty." At that, Ami sighed, grateful that they were paid 500,000 and Gray looked at Nanami unsure if he should really take her seriously. He sighed when he saw her skip over to the bar and sit down next to Lucy.

His eyes stayed on her as Lucy squealed and hugged Nanami, who looked very shocked at the sudden intimacy. Smirking to himself, he decided it was time to start a fight with a certain boy who had flames for brains.

"So, how was the mission?" Nanami sighed loudly as she finished her first beer.

"It was a pain in the ass. Oh, speaking of which," She looked up at Mirajane who was cleaning a beer mug. "Where's Master? I have to speak to him about something." Mirajane's response was simply to smile and point upstairs.

Nanami nodded at her in thanks. "Gray!" She looked around for the, most likely, shirtless boy. She was unsurprised to find him in boxers in a stance ready to fight Natsu. When he heard his name being called, he walked over to Nanami who pulled out her magic safe. The duo sighed in sync and walked upstairs to have a nice conversation with Master.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Gray called out for 'Gramps', who showed up in front of the pair.

"How was the mission?" Nanami only sighed, cigarette in mouth of course, and opened the safe to pull out the necklace and handed it to him.

"I see. So it was a pain then." Nanami only nodded.

"Yeah, we kept getting attacked by the dark guilds, first by Dark Unicorn and then by Death Head Caucus." Master took this time to notice the scars that covered the left side of his body.

"The necklace is a key to unlock one of Zeref's Demons. We didn't want to stop by the Magic Council, so we figured it'd be best for you to." Nanami finished for Gray.

"It's best that you did. I'll head out soon to talk to the council about this. Anything else happen?" The two shook their heads 'no'.

"Are you two partners now?"

Nanami and Gray looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "I guess so" and an "I don't care" was heard from the pair.

"Good, now get out." They both of them quickly left the room and shared a laugh, followed by a high five.

* * *

Hey guys! If you like the story, please, please, please give feedback! I'd really appreciate it!

**Rabbitleap; **Thank you! I really hope you continue!

**Sweetly Staring; **Thank you! I'm going to try, although it doesn't seem like too many people like it. I'm not getting any feedback at all ): But it might be grayxoc, it might not. One thing I'll tell you is that she and Juvia most likely won't get along. However, it would be funny if Nanami tried to drink Juvia's water wouldn't it? (;


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